KERN
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KERN |
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NAME: Kern COUNTY: n/a--Chugach National Forest ROADS: 2WD GRID: 2 CLIMATE: Icy/Snowy winters, windy summers BEST TIME TO VISIT: May to June |
COMMENTS: Kern is a ghost town located south of Girdwood, Alaska on the Seward Highway. Nobody lives there, and the maps indicate the entire townsite is now within the Chugach National Forest. No structures are visible from the roadway, but if you take the first pulloff south bound on the Seward Highway after passing Girdwood, then bushwhack through the small marsh and over the Alaska Railroad right of way (watch for trains!) you will find yourself on the old Kern townsite. The railroad still has a marker with the name "Kern" on it. The remnants of roads can be detected, but everything is overgrown and avalanches have destroyed much of the site. Several hunting treestands can be found in the area. Destroyed in 1964 by a Tsunami from a 9.2 magnitude Earth Quake. |
| I'm still researching its background, but Kern appears on many Alaska maps prior to WWII. It was at least for a time the terminus of the railway heading up from Seward. Most of the Turnagain Arm streams saw small gold rushes, so it's possible the streams around Kern were prospected. Sometime during or shortly after WWII, Kern dissolved and was absorbed into Chugach National Forest. It's likely any remaining structures were destroyed for safety concerns, though the undergrowth is so dense there may be a few cabins hidden away. Submitted by: Greg Henrikson |
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